Yahoo is set to announce a series of partnerships with mobile carriers in Asia in coming weeks, as it looks to its mobile services division for growth, a Reuters report said.
The Reuters report Yahoo president Susan Decker as saying that the US internet giant has been in talks with operators in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia for new tie-ups for its mobile services.
Yahoo's combined user base in Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, five of its key Asia Pacific markets, totals about 25 million users, according to Rose Tsou, senior vice president of Asia region.
The Reuters report said in June, Yahoo had signed six agreements with Asian mobile operators, including LG Telecom in South Korea, Maxis Communications Berhad in Malaysia and Taiwan Mobile .
Decker said internet users in Asia-Pacific were growing at the fastest compared to other parts of the world, and in 2010, the global market could expect to see 1.8 billion users, with Asia-Pacific taking up 36% of the pie.
In 2000, there were 390 million internet users globally, with Asia counting for 20%, she said.
In China, Yahoo owns 40% of Alibaba Group, whose business-to-business e-commerce unit is in the process of making a Hong Kong initial public offering that is expected to raise $1.5 billion, the report further said.